In recent years, automatic transaction devices typified by automated teller machines (ATM) in financial facilities have been installed in various sites such as banks, station premises and convenience stores. Customers can make various operations on the display screen displayed on an automatic transaction device under a variety of situations to make transactions including making money deposit and withdraw and inquiring balances.
Such an automatic transaction device is provided with a bill storing/discharging depository that stores and discharges bills. A bill accumulating mechanism in the conventional bill storing/discharging depository is generally provided with a transfer path such that bills are transferred onto a bill accumulation table in the horizontal direction. The bills transferred over the transfer path in the horizontal direction are vertically accumulated on the bill accumulation table in the horizontal position thereof.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-128536 proposes a bill accumulating mechanism in which a bill accumulation table has an inclined surface provided, on which bills will be accumulated in the inclined position thereof. The accumulation of bills in the inclined position allows the length of the bill storage in the direction of the width of bills to be shorter than the length of a side of the bills in the direction of transferring the bills, thereby reducing the thickness of the bill storage.
In the bill accumulating mechanism according to the conventional art, the stage, i.e. accumulation table, for accumulating bills thereon is vertically moved by means of a driving belt or spring. Therefore, in order to detect whether or not a bill is put on the accumulation table, it is necessary to provide an assembly of light emitter-optical sensor that forms an optical path in the same direction as the moving direction of the accumulation table such that a bill can be sensed whatever position the accumulation table may occupy.
However, if the accumulation table is adapted for moving a longer distance, the light emitter and optical sensor are separated accordingly by a longer distance, which requires an expensive, higher-sensitive sensor, resulting in an increase in costs. By contrast, if the optical sensor is provided so as to form its optical path in a direction different from the moving direction of the accumulation table, it does not require such a longer distance between the light emitter and the optical sensor that accords to the moving distance of the accumulation table. However, the accumulation table may take its position such that the accumulation table does not interfere with the optical path of the sensor, thus the sensor failing to sense the accumulation table, which is a disadvantage.